The Hindu Business Line : All ears...

James came down with a severe bout of asthma and could barely breathe. A single needle, inserted at a particular spot on the pinna of his ear, eased his condition!

Twenty-eight-year-old Nellie suddenly found that she could not close her eyes, had uncontrollable drooling and the entire right side of her face severely tilted to one side. She was affected with Bell's palsy. After seeking different forms of medication, she tried auriculotherapy. A few sessions later, she was on the road to recovery. So was the case with Jemima, a scleroderma patient.

Auriculotherapy is all about diagnosing and treating diseases in any area of the body by stimulating the auricle or the external ear with acupuncture needles, magnets, pellets, laser or even seeds, and a gentle massage with fingers, explains Dr Muzaffar Ahmad, New Jersey-based Internal Medical Specialist and one of the few auriculotherapists in the world.

While ear acupuncture was practised over 5,000 years ago in China, modern applications of the therapy are based on the work of Dr Paul Nogier of France. In the 1950s Dr Nogier noticed a strange scar, a result of cauterisation, on a particular spot on the upper ear of some patients who had been suffering from sciatica and low back pain. The cauterisation had been done to relieve them of backache. Dr Nogier then came up with an auricular somatotopic map of the ear. Thus was born auriculotherapy.

Auriculotherapy works by stimulating the central nervous system through the cranial and spinal nerves on the auricle of the ear. This stimulation of neurotransmitters modulates the pain and nerve function, thus beginning the healing process. The therapy is safe, painless and effective in treating stubborn illnesses, claims Dr Ahmad.

The overall effect of the therapy is to create a more balanced condition throughout the body, he says. "The whole human body is present in an inverted foetal form in the ear which has some hundreds of acupoints, which represent anatomical, neurological and physiological functions and when stimulated, relieve a wide range of conditions."

Diagnosis of problems through auriculotherapy involves stimulating the acupoints on the external ear and correlating this with the fluctuations of the radial pulse, which is simultaneously taken, explains Dr Ahmad. This therapy offers remedy for conditions such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, frozen shoulders, sports injuries, sciatica, irritable bowel syndrome, gastrointestinal disorders and dysfunctions, trigeminal neuralgia, migraine and other headaches, asthma, allergies, attention disorder, disorders of genital, urinary and cardiovascular systems, depression, anxiety, insomnia, Bell's Palsy, etc, says Dr Ahmad.

The therapy can be used on patients across age groups. The primary side effect of auriculotherapy is tenderness at the site of the prick, says Dr Ahmad. "The only real cause for concern would be infection from the needles at the site of the prick." But the use of disposable needles could help eliminate this risk, he adds.

However, there are certain categories of people in whom the therapy is contra-indicated, he says. These include pregnant women — particularly in the first trimester pregnancy, people with bleeding disorders and patients on blood thinners or anti-coagulants.

Cancer and AIDS patients could be made more comfortable with the therapy, he says. "This is particularly so in the case of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The undesirable effects of chemotherapy, such as hair loss and vomiting, are arrested to a large extent through auriculotherapy."

For patients who have cardiac problems, hypertension or diabetes, auriculotherapy could help to lower dosage of conventional medications, he says. "Patients suffering from these conditions suffer chronic stress. This has to be addressed first. They also need to stick to a diet and exercise regimen to get the fullest benefit from any system of medicine."

However, Dr Ahmad cautions against using this therapy to treat infectious air and water-borne diseases. "No, I would not advise this procedure for people with malaria, typhoid or such other infections. It is best to treat these with conventional medical procedures and then keep their immune system boosted through auriculotherapy."

A typical auriculotherapy session lasts for approximately an hour and the number of sessions a patient requires is determined by his or her condition, the acuteness of the problem, and response to treatment, explains Dr Ahmad.

Two types of needles — the traditional Chinese Acupuncture needle and the French Acupuncture (ASP) needle — are used. The ASP needles differ from the Chinese ones in that they can remain on the ear pinna for a period of three or four weeks, thus obviating the need for frequent visits to the therapist. The needles do not interfere with the individual's routine activities. These needles would fall off automatically after the required length of time, says Dr Ahmad. The type of needle used is determined by the area of the ear to be pricked and the condition to be treated, he adds.

Would wearing earrings adversely affect an individual's well being? "Yes," says Dr Ahmad. "It is possible that earrings poked in an inappropriate spot on the pinna, could trigger problems and the individual may not even be aware of this."

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